Which to use
“laïc” is an adjective and “lam” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,892
- “laïc” frequency rank
- #25,713
- “lam” frequency rank
- 45605
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laïc | lam |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qualifie le caractère des personnes ou des choses ne faisant pas partie d’une institution religieuse. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent du verbe lemel/lemen/lemiñ. |
Where the eye mixes laïc and lam
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: laïc vs lam
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: laïc is \la.ik\ while lam is \ˈlãmː\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45605, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
laïc is recorded at frequency rank #19,892, classified as anadj, pronounced \la.ik\. lam is at rank #25,713, tagged as averb, pronounced \ˈlãmː\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 45605, this pair ranks #201,436 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of laïc vs lam
Shared letters: al. Private to "laïc": cï. Private to "lam": m.
"laïc" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lam" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "laïc" and "lam" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "laïc" or "lam" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "laïc" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lam" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #201,436 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laïc" and "lam" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lam vs lep". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #201,436 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.